I’m not going to go ahead and say making chicken stock couldn’t be any easier than when made in an instant pot… but it’s pretty dang awesome!

There are a couple of things that always annoy me when making chicken stock:

1. I am always adding water to the pot because the stock evaporates leaving those precious chicken bones exposed!

2. My kitchen fan is awful. Not just awful, but like, what-is-even-the-point-of-turning-it-on awful. So when I make stock, the fan doesn’t do it’s job of sucking up all that steam. Instead, it hangs around my kitchen then drips down the cupboards and windows. Pretty sweet, right? 🙄

Now that I have an Instant Pot, I can make my stock without having to constantly top the pot up with water or steam up my entire house / get dripped on with condensation! Wahoo!

Oh, and I can have a delicious, flavour-rich chicken stock in a little over an hour. Yeah, that too.

Ingredients you’ll need to make Instant Pot Chicken Broth

To start with you will need a chicken carcass. I always save my carcasses after making a chicken dinner, even if I don’t think I’ll be making stock any time soon. They freeze great if you don’t have time to make broth within a couple of days of the chicken dinner.

You’ll also need water, some vegetables, herbs of choice and some salt. I like to use celery, carrots and onion for the vegetables. As for herbs, I like garlic and thyme, rosemary or sage.

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Broth

It’s so easy you will be thrilled! At least I am 🤓

The first step is browning the chicken carcass in oil. Now, you can absolutely skip this step, but I think it brings another depth of flavour you’d be missing out on if you skip…

So.. Heat your Instant Pot on the saute mode and add a tbsp of oil. Once it’s hot, add your chicken carcass and saute for about five minutes, turning the bones around in the pot every minute or so.

Deglaze the Instant Pot with 1/2 cup water and using a wooden spoon, scrub all the little browned bits from the bottom of the pot, then shut off the machine.

Toss in some roughly chopped vegetables. I use a couple of carrots, 3 stalks celery and an onion. Now add 5 cloves of garlic, 2 tsp sea salt and your herbs of choice. I like to use 3 stalks of rosemary or a handful of thyme or sage.

Pour in enough water to almost reach the max fill line; Should be around 10 cups.

Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to the sealed position. Turn the Instant Pot on to the High Pressure setting and cook for 45 minutes, then naturally release.

Once it’s safe to open the lid, strain the broth and discard all the strained bits including the carcass, vegetables and herbs.

Boom. Delicious chicken broth.

*If you are in a hurry, you can absolutely quick release, but naturally releasing allows the broth to sponge up more of those yummy flavours.

How to store homemade chicken broth

Cool your Instant Pot Chicken Broth to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight, unless using right away. A thick layer of fat with form on top of the chicken broth that can be scooped out and discarded.

What are your plans for your homemade chicken broth? Is it specifically for a soup you’ll be making soon? Or did you make it to have jars on hand? Maybe a mix of both.

When I make a batch of Instant Pot Chicken Broth I like to save a good portion of it for soup and the rest go into jars for little broth jobs.

If you will be using the broth right away for an upcoming soup, it can be stored in a saucepan in the fridge for 3-4 days. Otherwise, pour the broth into a large freezer safe zilpoc bag if you’ll be freezing it for a soup, or glass jars to freeze smaller portions.

This Instant Pot Chicken Broth will be in top condition for 4-6 months in the freezer, but is still usable for up to a year.

*If the broth has turned into a jelly, it can be warmed slightly before pouring into individual jars for storage.

What is the difference between chicken stock and chicken broth?

They sound the same, don’t they? Well, these two are similar, but also completely different 😂

Chicken Broth

Chicken broth is made from simmering chicken meat with vegetables and herbs for a couple of hours. It has lots of vitamins and minerals and also comes with a delicious flavour made from the simmering chicken meat.

Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is made from simmering clean chicken bones, with no meat attached, for a long period of time. This process releases collagen and bone marrow into the stock, enriching it with added nutrients that broth doesn’t have.

It’s downfall? It doesn’t taste quite as good as chicken broth and takes a little longer to make.

Nutrition

Hi, I’m Aleta! I love to create healthy recipes for my family; meals my two little stinkers actually love to eat. Raising kids can be hard, but eating healthy doesn’t have to be with the right recipes!

About me

Aleta

Hi, I’m Aleta! I love to create healthy recipes for my family; meals my two little stinkers actually love to eat. Raising kids can be hard, but eating healthy doesn’t have to be with the right recipes!